Container opener



6, 1955 L. R. B. ATWATER ET AL 2,715,264

CONTAINER OPENER Filed Jan. 21, 1953 1' In were tons:

' Lazy/z R. B. A twater, l I H Edward CfimzneZgr/n,

z uKVfiVZM Ag? United States Patent CONTAINER OPENER Leigh R. B.Atwater, Boston, and Edward C. Donnelly, Jr., Dover, Mass., assignors,by mesne assignments, to said Donnelly, Jr.

Application January 21, 1953, Serial No. 332,204

1 Claim. (Cl. 306.1)

This invention relates to a container opener and pertains morespecifically to a can opener adapted to form a plurality of openings inthe end wall of a can in a single operation.

One object of the invention is to provide an opener for liquidcontainers made of sheet metal, which opener is adapted to form in onestroke at least two openings in the container wall, one of the openingsserving as a discharge opening for the liquid, the second openingserving as an air inlet.

Another object is to provide a can opener of the shear type whichfulcrums about the periphery of an end wall of the can to form at leasttwo openings in the end wall of the can in a single stroke.

Another object is to provide a shear-type can opener which forms a largeliquid discharge opening adjacent the margin of an end wall and asmaller air inlet opening nearer the center of the end wall in a singleoperation.

Still a further object is to provide a shear-type can opener capable offorming a plurality of openings in the end wall of a can in a singlestroke, the length of the stroke and hence the size of the openingsbeing limited by abutment of the handle portion of the can openeragainst the rim of the can.

Still another object is to provide an integral one-piece can opener ofthe type described which may readily and economically be formed frommetal plate.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the drawings and thedescription which follows.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a view in perspective partly broken away and in section of theopener of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation partly broken away and in section of aportion of the opener in position on the end of a can preparatory toopenings;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation partly broken away and in section showingthe opener on the can at the completion of the opening stroke;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the end of the can showing the openings formedby the opener; and

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation showing the opener of the presentinvention in position for use as a bottle cap remover.

Referring to the drawings, the container opener of the present inventionis preferably formed as by die-stamping or punching from a single metalplate to provide an elongated rigid handle portion which is bent backsharply upon itself at one end, as at 11. The bent-back portion 12 thenextends rearwardly away from the axis of the handle portion at an anglesomewhat less than 90 to form a generally arcuate triangularcan-piercing and shearing blade 13. The two converging edges 14, 14 ofthis blade are sharpened to serve as cutting edges and meet at a pointedtip 15.

A hooked lug 20 is struck from the handle portion adjacent bend 11, thislug being provided with a slight hook 21 at its tip which is adapted toengage the peripheral ice seam or bead 22 around the margin of the can,as shown in Fig. 2. Lug 20 and piercing element 13 extend in the samegeneral direction from the handle, but the lug 20 is much shorter thanthe piercing element 13. The space between lug 20 and piercing element13 is somewhat greater than the width of the usual rolled seam on theend of a can, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to facilitate placing theopener in position.

A second generally triangular can-piercing element 25 is struck from thehandle portion at a point spaced from lug 20 by a distance preferablysomewhat greater than the radius of the can on which the opener is to beused. Element 25 likewise is provided with a pair of convergent cuttingedges 26, 26 terminating in a pointed tip 27. The size of element 25 issuch that its tip lies much closer to the axis of the handle portionthan the tip of element 13.

In order that the opener may serve a dual function and operate as abottle cap remover, a part 30 of the handle portion may be offset, as bybending, and a second hooked lug 31 may be struck from the handleportion adjacent the ofiset part.

In use, the opener is placed in the position shown in Fig. 2 with hookedlug 20 engaging the rolled seam at one end of the can with the handleportion extending upwardly and inwardly toward the axis of the can. Thehandle portion is then rocked downwardly to the position shown in Fig.3, the device pivoting about lug 20 as a fulcrum. During this rockingstroke the pointed tip of piercing element 13 first punctures the endwall of the can followed by a shearing of the end wall along divergentlines of the cutting edges 14 to provide a relatively large triangularopening 35. When the formation of this opening is almost completed, thepointed tip 27 of the second piercing element 25 pierces the end Wall ata point somewhat beyond the center, as shown in Fig. 4, and the cuttingedges 26, 26 of this element then shear a small triangular opening 36 inthe end wall. At this point, the handle portion 10 abuts against the rimof the can opposite the portion engaged by lug 20 and prevents furtherrocking of the implement. Accordingly, the size of the two openings 35and 36 is positively controlled.

We have found that for optimum results the area or size of opening 35,which serves as the liquid discharge openings, should be from 11 to 12times the area of air inlet openings 36. For the usual l2-ouncecontainer, opening 35 is preferably in the shape of an isoscelestriangle, with its base and altitude both approximately 54 of an inchlong to give an opening which is from 0.5 to 0.6 square inch in area.With an opening of these dimensions, a 12-ounce container filled with aliquid having a viscosity approximately equal to that of water can beemptied in 2 /2 to 3 seconds without excessive turbulence and with asmooth, even flow. For best results it has been found that the air inletopening should be located beyond the center of the can end, as viewedfrom opening 35. Preferably it is located closer to the center of thecan end than to the margin in order to minimize the force required topush the piercing element 25 through the sheet metal. When the size ofthis inlet opening is reduced below that of the liquid dischargeopening, the rate of discharge is greatly reduced and the turbulence isgreatly increased. When the size of the air inlet opening is greaterthan about hi of the size of the liquid discharge opening, the liquidstend to emerge from both openings simultaneously.

In using the implement of the present invention as a bottle cap remover,it is merely turned over, as shown in Fig. 5, and the lug 31 is engagedunder the edge of bottle cap 38, whereupon an upward rocking movement ofthe handle portion sufiices to remove the cap.

The opener of the present invention may conveniently Q be made in avariety of sizes, each being particularly adapted for use with a can orcontainer of specific size, although a single size implement willperform quite weil on containers which vary considerabiy in size.

Although we have herein described specific embodiments of our inventionWe do not intend to limit ourselves soleiy thereto but to include ali ofthe obvious variations and modifications Within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claim.

We claim:

A unitary can opener forrned from a singie metal plate comprising anelongated handie portion having an end bent back sharply terminating ina generally arcuate triangular can-piercing eiernent having a pair ofconverging cutting edges with a pointed tip, said element extendiriggenerally outwardly and rearWardiy from said handie portion, a hookedlug struck from said handle portion adjacent the bend thereof extendinggenerally in the same direction as said can-piercing element butterminating closer to the plane of the handle and adapted to engage theperipheral seam' of the can when 'saidharidle portion is rockedthereabout to force the can-piercing eiement through the end wail of thecan near its margin, and a second generally triangular can-piercingelement s;ruck from the handle portion at a point more remote from saidhooked lug than the first said element and extending in the same generaldirection as the first said element, said second element having a pairof converging cutting edges ending in apointed tip which is disposedcioser to the axis of the handle than the tip of the first said eieinentso that is penetrates the end wall of the can subsequent to the firstelement to form a smaller opening near the center of the can end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNi ED STATES PATENTS 31Purdy Oct. 21, 1913 53 Meier et al. a Mar. 26, 1940

